Dear pastors, co-workers and church leaders,
Please take a moment of your valuable time to understand the following important matter and respond by signing the Petition for the federal government to recognize the charitable status of faith-based organizations. Please mobilize your congregations to do the same. The deadline is August 15.
Last December, the House of Common’s Finance Committee submitted a consultation report on the 2025 budget to the federal Liberal Party government. In the 330-page report (see: https://www.ourcommons.ca/documentviewer/en/44-1/FINA/report-21/page-93#24), there are two proposals:
No. 429: The government will no longer provide charitable status to anti-abortion organizations; and
No. 430: The government will amend Income Tax Act to provide a definition of a charity which would remove the privileged status of “advancement of religion” as a charitable purpose.
In Canada, “advancement of religion” (such as religious activities conducted by churches) has always been considered a charitable purpose, removing it means revoking their charitable status. Since taking office, the Carney government has yet to submit a budget to Parliament, and this 2025 budget consultation report may be considered for adoption.
This Petition (No. e-6586) is sponsored by MP Cathay Wagantall from Saskatchewan. Ms. Wagantall may not be your local MP, but this is not an issue, as she is the MP sponsoring the Petition initiated by Tsz Lok Chan, a citizen residing in her constituency. Wagantall will submit the names collected from the petition to Parliament. Therefore, any citizen residing in Canada can sign the Petition at https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-6586. Please actively promote the Petition, as the deadline is August 15. The more signatures collected, the more effective the Petition will be. Please do your best to sign. After signing, you will receive an email, and your signature will only be valid after confirming it in the email.
In addition to signing the Petition, you may also want to send an email or letter to your local MP stating your position to oppose these two Recommendations. Thank you.
A sample letter to your MP (prepared by EFC) is attached that you may use. The link containing the contact information of your MP (including where to find your MP and his/her corresponding email address) may be found in this link:
https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/search?view=list
I’ve signed the petition and will send a letter to my MP who is also our Prime Minister later today.
Sample email or letter prepared by The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
(on Recommendation 430 only)
https://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/Resources/Government/2025/Resources-on-Charitable-Status
Dear MP ______,
Thank you for your work in our community. I am writing about the Finance Committee’s recommendation to remove advancing religion as a charitable purpose. I think it’s important to keep charitable status for religious charities. Religious charities benefit our communities in so many ways. Removing charitable status would be a blow to religious charities, to the people they serve and to Canadian society.
I’d like you to oppose the Finance Committee’s recommendation and to support keeping advancing religion as a charitable purpose. Thank you and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Sincerely,
[ Your Name ]
[ Your Postal Code ]
Blessings,
Pastor Gerald
